It was the fall of 1985 and we were living on Staten Island where our third son had been born only a few weeks earlier. We had a few unexpected expenses the past year and financially, we were just holding our heads above water. A small group discussion at the grocery store made me realize that culturally, we were poor. The end went something like this: Me: “Well, I can feed my family on $40 a week.” Complete Stranger: “Then you must not be feeding them very well!!” Me: (almost speechless but not quite) “Why? Because I don’t buy soda, junk food, ice cream or take my kids to McDonald's all the time?” Complete Stranger turned her nose up at me and walked away. I was a bit angry more than hurt. How dare she judge my ability to care for my family? I prayed, forgave her and continued my careful shopping all the while very conscious of what I put in the cart. I was a good Christian wife and mother; carefully looking after my family and praying for wisdom each month as I worked on our budget and made out the checks to pay the bills. It hadn’t been easy living in NYC but God was faithful.
We were planning to have Thanksgiving at our house for the first time, ever, since the grandparents had always requested our presence at their tables for the holiday. I was pretty excited, at first, but soon realized that there did not appear to be enough left in the budget for a November feast. I prayed. Who was not going to get paid that month? I checked and rechecked the budget. There were months we stretched our “grace periods” to the max but that wasn’t going to help this time. I was tempted to use some of our tithing money which would cover the cost of dinner but that didn’t seem quite fair since I was supposed to be trusting the Lord, who is always faithful! So I prayed some more.
We were planning to have Thanksgiving at our house for the first time, ever, since the grandparents had always requested our presence at their tables for the holiday. I was pretty excited, at first, but soon realized that there did not appear to be enough left in the budget for a November feast. I prayed. Who was not going to get paid that month? I checked and rechecked the budget. There were months we stretched our “grace periods” to the max but that wasn’t going to help this time. I was tempted to use some of our tithing money which would cover the cost of dinner but that didn’t seem quite fair since I was supposed to be trusting the Lord, who is always faithful! So I prayed some more.
Not quite two weeks before Thanksgiving, a dear lady came up to me after church with an envelope in her hand. She said, “Someone handed this to me and asked me to give it to you.” I opened it and found a lovely, unsigned Thanksgiving card along with a $20 bill. I was shocked! Dumbfounded, unable to speak, I turned to the woman and started to cry. She quickly put her arms around me. When I was able to speak, I whispered, “Who? Who knew we needed this?” Then I cried some more. “Stop crying!” She whispered back. “They want to be anonymous.” Tears were still flowing, and now adrenaline was kicking in so I started to shake. “But how did they know?” The poor woman was now beside herself, also in tears. We hugged for a long time. You see, it was she and her husband who had made this generous offer! He had handed her the envelope… They did this every year as a Thanksgiving tradition, prayerfully choosing a young family for no special reason. It was simply our turn. God was faithful! I was able to shop for our Thanksgiving dinner, providing everything but the pies which were traveling down with the grandparents! There was even some money left over to be put away for a trip to Dunkin Donuts!
My story is not over. Another family in our church had the tradition of anonymously leaving turkeys on the doorsteps of unsuspecting families, unannounced, unseen very early in the morning. One yearly recipient of a Thanksgiving turkey was a struggling little family with three boys who were always trying to make ends meet; trying to get the best help for their special needs child; the husband trying to find better employment… But this year, they had been blessed in several ways and were, in my friend’s words, “FINALLY” not needing the generous donation of a turkey and would I like to have it, since she knew our family was coming down! I thanked her profusely as I pictured New Year’s dinner and soup in the freezer to follow! God is faithful!
Fast forward 30+ years: Not without struggles, heartaches and hardships, but that sweet lady from our church has thrived and no doubt countless other families have been blessed by their generosity! The anonymous family who donated turkeys, no longer anonymous, but still being faithful with what God has given them have blessed countless families, not just with turkeys and have been blessed, themselves! The young family with the special needs child has been blessed and is now a blessing to others! And our family, with children long grown and grandchildren doing the same has never forgotten and we, too, in sharing, have blessings in abundance! No one is famous, some may be “well to do,“ but by far the riches we have are not monetary. I am reminded of Psalm 100, shared with us at church this past Sunday: A Psalm for giving thanks. [1] Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth! [2] Serve the LORD with gladness! Come into his presence with singing! [3] Know that the LORD, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. [4] Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name! [5] For the LORD is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations. (ESV)
Happy Thanksgiving!
Fast forward 30+ years: Not without struggles, heartaches and hardships, but that sweet lady from our church has thrived and no doubt countless other families have been blessed by their generosity! The anonymous family who donated turkeys, no longer anonymous, but still being faithful with what God has given them have blessed countless families, not just with turkeys and have been blessed, themselves! The young family with the special needs child has been blessed and is now a blessing to others! And our family, with children long grown and grandchildren doing the same has never forgotten and we, too, in sharing, have blessings in abundance! No one is famous, some may be “well to do,“ but by far the riches we have are not monetary. I am reminded of Psalm 100, shared with us at church this past Sunday: A Psalm for giving thanks. [1] Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth! [2] Serve the LORD with gladness! Come into his presence with singing! [3] Know that the LORD, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. [4] Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name! [5] For the LORD is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations. (ESV)
Happy Thanksgiving!